beers galore

cheers! went to east timor for some work and came away feeling that it is beer heaven!
and seeing that single malt of any kind would be wasted on a tropical isle like east timor, i decided to sample the variety of beers available on the duty free island.
starting with the cascade premium lager from australia's oldest brewery.
with a 5.2 percent alcohol by volume content, the chilled crisp flavoured beer refreshed the hot afternoons and nights that were du jour in the east timorese capital dili.
cascade's brewery is located in tasmania, which is also home to the j boag lager i had imbibed last year.
then it was time for a traditional australian favourite, victoria bitter or vb as its famously known, made by fosters.
the 4.9 percent alcohol by volume bitter lager is one full flavoured brew.
had more than a couple of cans of the lager which had a fruity aroma to balance the suprisingly sweet malt and bitter after taste.
coincidentally, apart from the watery fosters lager, vb is australia's most famous beer export but i dare say the other beers especially made with the pristine waters of tasmania are a sight and taste better any day. or night.
from vb i made the short journey in the eski to melbourne bitter, another offering from the fosters group.
the rather robust beer is a full strength lager with a lesser 4.6 percent alcohol by volume than its victorian counterpart but more than made up for it with its malty notes and a pleasant if not slightly dull body.
the bitterness however came through and made it a must - once chilled - for the sizzling of days in east timor - the kind that cooks an egg in a matter of seconds.
from down under, i made the beer run to portugal - once colonial masters of east timor - with its offering of super bock classic beer.
the frothy lager, with a 5.6 percent alcohol by volume content, is rather refreshing especially with the seafood dinners we had along the dili beach.
we had copious draughts of the chilled super bock which balanced its robustness and bitterness just right to make us order more.
that's it. beers galore. east timor.
what more can one say except head over there for more!

no small beer too

cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!
a cheery and beery dusk to dawn. liverpool fc won the uefa champions league trophy early today, beating ac milan 3-2 on penalties (they were tied 3-3 after full time and extra time).
watched my favourite team lift the cup after 21 years in a well-known liverpool supporters' pub in section 16, petaling jaya. great atmosphere but a bit of a mystery as they were serving tiger beer and not liverpool's sponsor carlsberg.
jugs of beer kept us awake and funnily enough, sober as well, as the match culminated into a nail-biting penalty kicks phase to decide the champions as the crack of dawn illuminated the city skyline.
the cheers had begun at dusk as more beers from down under made their way to my hands and lips at a Australian barbecue in a tropical drizzle.
the rain stoked the humidity and a glass of crown lager was most welcome, though it was light in colour and slight in taste, the 4.9 percent alcohol by volume beer is quite reminiscent of its more famous australian cousin, the watery fosters lager that i detest.
aussie pride was saved with the first bottle of hahn premium lager that i had. a refreshing strong golden beer that perked me up though it is only 5 percent alcohol by volume. strange, must have been the fresh taste that got my attention.
its sweet, not bitter, and that whetted my appetite as the sausages and lamb chops sizzled on the barbecue grill. quite a nice beer.
the third beer on offer was a cascade premium lager, also from the fosters family. the 5.2 percent alcohol by volume tasmanian beer was straw coloured but had no impressive taste. one bottle was enough and rinsed my palate with another bottle of hahn's for good effect.
but that soon finished and all that was left were crown lagers.
having said that, had a couple of cans of oranjeboom pilsner over the long weekend. the bitter 5 percent alcohol by volume beer stirred the tastebuds as i had already quaffed five mugs of tiger draught before the oranjeboom made its appearance.
that's enough on beer. on to a more spiritual path. hic!